Facts of the Case
All 22 episodes from the monumentally great fourth season are present and
accounted for, in all their uncut glory. Let's get right to the episodes.
• "Kamp Krusty"
Bart and Lisa greatly anticipate
their summer sojourn to Kamp Krusty, but learn the bitter truth when they
discover their idealized fantasy world of fun and wilderness is a living hell,
run by teenage goons and an apathetic director. The children eventually rise up
against their tormentors, and finally face down Krusty himself making him answer
for his actions.
• "A Streetcar Named Marge"
Marge decides to do
some community theatre and is cast as Blanche (alongside Ned Flanders) in a
musical production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Much to her chagrin,
Homer shows no interest in her efforts. Meanwhile, Maggie commands a fearsome
force of rug-rats as they attempt a coup at the Ayn Rand Day Care Center.
• "Homer the Heretic"
Gasp! Homer gives up church
after he realizes how much fun he can have loafing around at home. All is well
in the world until Homer has a dream that he meets God himself (a five-fingered
Creator, generating some mind-bending "theological implications" as
Matt Groening says). Meanwhile the house burns down. Can Homer's soul be saved?
More importantly, can the house be saved?
• "Lisa the Beauty Queen"
In an effort to perk up
his daughter Lisa, Homer sells his precious ticket on the Duff blimp to Barney.
He uses the money to enter Lisa in a beauty pageant sponsored by a tobacco
company, where, through a technicality, she wins. But now she's faced with a
moral dilemma—popularity versus her conscience.
• "Treehouse of Horror III"
Three tales of terror
giving us a maniacal Krusty doll running amok, a Homer-cum-giant-ape, and a
zombie-riddled Springfield.
• "Itchy and Scratchy: The Movie"
The movie event
of Bart's life has arrived. Itchy and Scratchy have come to the big screen and
it represents the zenith of Bart's decade on the planet. But Homer, newly
committed to steadfast discipline, enforces a ban of the movie as punishment to
Bart. Homer refuses to balk, convinced his action will have positive
repercussions on Bart in the future—a payoff we see at the very end.
• "Marge Gets a Job"
Thanks to some costly home
repairs, Marge is forced to get a job at Homer's nuclear power plant. She soon
becomes Mr. Burns's object of desire and must fend off his slimy advances (poor
Smithers is relegated to toilet-scrubbing duty). Bart, meanwhile, learns the
true moral of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," and gets bailed out by a
jacked Groundskeeper Willie.
• "New Kid on the Block"
Bart becomes infatuated
with the new teenage girl who's moved into the neighborhood. He must, however,
learn the hard facts of unrequited love, as he deals with the reality that she
likes—the horror!—Jimbo Jones.
• "Mr. Plow"
Exhibiting the entrepreneurial
spirit at its finest, Homer goes into business as the omnipresent Mr.
Plow. His racket on snowplowing quickly brings Homer citywide accolades.
That is until Barney unleashes the rival Plow King, an action that splits
the two friends apart.
• "Lisa's First Word"
One of the great flashback
episodes, we see Homer and Marge enduring a tyrannical toddler Bart who has an
affinity for flushing Homer's valuables down the toilet. But a new wrinkle is
about to be added to the unfolding Simpson tapestry as Marge announces her
pregnancy with Lisa. The family buys their dream home, ships Grandpa to the old
folks home, meets Ned Flanders for the first time, and deals with sibling
rivalry. The very end of the episode features the much-publicized Maggie's first
word, as voice by Elizabeth Taylor.
• "Homer's Triple Bypass"
Unwilling to face the
fact that his lack of exercise and pathetic eating habits are leading to poor
health, Homer finds himself the victim of multiple heart attacks. But the
required surgery is beyond the scope of Homer's meager wage. Enter Dr. Nick,
with his unbeatable deal of any surgery done for $129.99. "Hi
everybody!"
• "Marge vs. the Monorail"
A classic episode that
finds the citizens of Springfield enchanted by the monorail-salesman Lyle
Lanley. Lanley successfully pitches a monorail to the town, and all are gleeful
about the superfluous conveyance, especially Homer. Marge is the lone dissenter,
and, as usual, Marge is proven right.
• "Selma's Choice"
Marge's chain-smoking,
DMV-working sister, Selma, feels the tick of her biological clock. She desires a
child, but after an insane outing with Bart and Lisa, she opts for a more
reptilian answer to her maternal instinct.
• "Brother from the Same Planet"
Homer forgets to
pick up Bart from soccer practice, despite numerous reminders from his head.
When he finally arrives, Bart is furious, and decides to forgo his relationship
with his dad and join a Big Brothers organization. Homer retaliates by securing
a "little brother." The father and son eventually mend their
relationship but not before a vicious fistfight that finds Homer combating
Bart's "big brother." Homer, of course, ends up wrapped around a fire
hydrant.
• "I Love Lisa"
It's Valentine's Day, and out of
pity, Lisa gives Ralph Wiggum his only valentine. Of course, the poor sap
immediately falls in love with her. Lisa tries to be as kind as possible, but
loses her cool when she's caught on television with Ralph, who then confesses
her undying love for her.
• "Duffless"
Homer minus Duff = a tear in the
fabric of existence.
• "Last Exit to Springfield"
Lisa needs braces
and the Simpsons, now minus a dental plan thanks to Mr. Burns, cannot afford the
cost of a decent set. Homer ascends to the head of the workers union and demands
the dental plan. Mr. Burns, mystified by the prowess of Homer (who in reality
has no clue what he's doing) and his dealings as union boss, caves in.
• "So It Comes to This: A Simpson's Clip Show"
It's April Fool's Day and after some cruel pranks by Homer, he gets his just
desserts when an errant Bart-prank puts him into a coma. A visitation to the
past commences. You know you're dealing with greatness when a clip show is
hilarious.
• "The Front"
Convinced they can craft a superior
Itchy and Scratchy cartoon, Bart and Lisa put together a script with their
grandpa's name affixed to it. Abe Simpson soon garners accolades and money
because of his hit cartoons (though he's mainly unaware of why he's recently
become the center of attention).
• "Whacking Day"
Lisa stands up against
Springfield's beloved tradition of "Whacking Day," which invites
residents to grab a stick and go after all the snakes in town. Can one little
girl turn the tide of a city full of snake-whackers? (That doesn't sound
right)
• "Marge in Chains"
Sweet, a "women in
prison" exploitation episode! When Springfield is debilitated by a foreign
flu, Marge is the only one upright enough to care for her brood. Overworked and
fatigued, she inadvertently shoplifts and is sent to prison. Jimmy Carter and
her marshmallow squares eventually lead to her release.
• "Krusty Gets Kancelled"
Unable to compete with
a high-powered new act, Krusty throws in the towel. A hugely successful comeback
special attracts all kinds of celebrities, and his kareer is saved.
The Evidence
The Simpsons is a show that has transcended the term "show."
A pop culture phenomenon, a breeding ground for endless colloquialisms, a zoo of
icons, a poignant satire of society, blah blah blah blah blah.
Look, everyone knows about The Simpsons. Revered by many as the
greatest thing ever on TV, lauded as a consistently funny exercise in parody and
slapstick, The Simpsons has been around forever, and rightfully so.
But like all shows, it took some time to hit its stride. Rarely does a show
nail it the first season or two. For the most part, I think that's correct with
The Simpsons. I own seasons two and three, and passed over season one.
Perhaps I'll be labeled as a faux-fan, but the maiden voyage just wasn't funny
enough to call for a purchase. The two subsequent seasons were certainly better,
each one getting closer and closer to the unrelenting zaniness I cherish.
With season four, it is here.
What a consistently hilarious season of television this was. It's a
high-point for the series, and as such a high-point for television in
general.
What separates The Simpsons from all other shows, for me, is way the
show delivers utterly gut-busting laughs—the kind of gags that just
thinking about them again can lead to fits of laughter. Case in point, the top
three killers from this set:
Number Three: Lisa's Braces from "Last Exit to
Springfield"
When the dentist shows the computerized Lisa as she
ages without braces, and eventually her teeth grow out of control, piercing her
face. Add to that, it followed "The Big Book of British Smiles." Man,
I'm laughing just thinking about it.
Number Two: Baby Bart in the Clown Bed from "Lisa's First
Word"
"I know how much you liked clowns. So I figured you
can laugh yourself to sleep," says Homer as he deposits little Bart in a
monstrosity of a clown bed. Holy friggin' crap that's funny.
Number One: Feeding the Baby Goat from "Lisa the Beauty
Queen"
I can't pinpoint why this scene, at the very end of the
episode is so hilarious. Maybe it's the utter, random absurdity of it. A baby
goat being fed a bottle. Sounds innocent enough, but damned if it's not one of
the funniest things I have ever seen. "That's obviously the wrong
footage," says Kent Brockman flatly. Outstanding.
Fox has unleashed the kind of set fans have been yearning for. Perhaps they
were biding their time with the others, but Season Four is loaded silly
with everything a fan could want. Every episode features a commentary
track, sporting the likes of Matt Groening, the producers, the writers, the
directors, and even Conan O'Brien. These commentaries are so great because
everyone is having a great time, joking around, telling inside jokes, then
making fun of each other for telling inside jokes on a commentary track, and
unloading bales of trivia. It's like being privy to an elite club of funny,
funny people.
In addition, the set includes deleted scenes for some select episodes (which
are funny by the way), tons of animation/animatic material, and even some
promotional stuff featuring Matt Groening opining about his creation.
Lastly are a couple of really interesting featurettes, exposing the truth
behind a couple of controversies the series sparked. One, the "Cajun
Controversy," addressed the stir created in New Orleans after the raucous
musical number based on the city aired in "A Streetcar Named Marge."
Second, in "Bush vs. Simpson," producer Jim Brooks recounts the
surreal exchange between Barbara Bush and Marge Simpson, and how it culminated
in an icy glare from the First Lady. Not to be missed.
The video is crisp and clean and bright, showcasing the many colors
Springfield has to offer. The interface is unique and funny (though it did grow
tedious having to wait for the animations with every menu selection), and having
scene selection within episodes is fantastic. And all of it in 5.1 Digital to
boot! Don't expect an audio tour de force, but is certainly beats a mono
mix.
